Method and machine for making blanks from a sheet



Jam. 24, 1928.

H. K. SMITH METHOD AND MACHINE FOR MAKING BLANKS FROM A SHEET Filed Jan. 26. 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 24, 1928.

H. K. SMITH METHOD AND MAcHINp FOR MAKING BLANKS FROM A SHEET Filed Jan. 26, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 gmeflkoz Harj A. 5/11/77 MAT/15,

Patented Jan. 24, 1928.

HARRY K. SMITH, F BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

METHOD AND MACHINE FOR MAKING BLANKS FROM A SHEET.

Application filed. January 26, 1925. Serial No. 4,934.

My invention relates to a method and machine for making blanks from a sheet.

Among the objects ot my invention are To devise a method for increasing the'production oil. blanks, formed from a sheet, particularly sheet metal blanks, and for decreasing the amount of manual labor in volved in said production.

To produce a unitary machine tor the making of blanks from sheet material, including metal.

My invention comprehends, in its special phase, the producing of a single machine which shall perform the trimming and slitting operations in the manufacture of sheet metal blanks. As now accomplished, sheets of tin or other metal are fed from stacks to trimming machines which cut and trim the same into two blanks, the width of each blank being equal to one dimension of the proposed blank. These blanks are stacked as they come from the trimmer and are then manually ted to the slitting machine winch cuts the same at right angles to their length, thus sizing the blank. This method entails considerable handling of the material and cspeci ally requires great skill in the feeding of the blanks to the machines.

Other methods have been devised in which the blanks, utter passing through the trimmer, are carried by means of a conveyor to the slitter. Owing to the fact that the trimmer cuts two blanks, this method slows down production because of the necessity for retarding the movement (it one blank while the other is being fed to the slitter.

lvl y improved method and machine over come these di'l'liculties by requiring a. minimum of hand labor and by providing a continuous and uniform flow of the sheet material, thereby insuring a maximum rate of production.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved machine, certain of the under parts thercot being omitted.

l is a view looking; in the direction ot the arrow 2 in Fig. 1, showing the trimu'iing portion of my improved machine.

Fig. 3 is a view looking in the direction ot the arrow 3, showing the relation of the cutting rollers hereinafter dcscriber Fig :l is a section along the line -l--a in l ig. l looking in the direction of the arrows.

certain of the parts being omitted.

Fig. (i is a view of a portion oi the ma.

chine looking in the direction of the arrow v6 in Fig. 1, showing the relation 01'? certain parts hereinafter described.

In the drawings i 10 is the bed of my improved machine which is provided with a table 11 for the reception of the metallic sheets. A guide 12 is laterally adjusted in slots such as 13 formed inthe table- 11, said guide serving to position the sheet on its way to the rollers hereinafter described.

Bearing blocks such as 14 are formed on each side of the table 11 adjacent the dclivery end thereof, and a shaft 15 is revolubly mounted in said bearings. Cutting rolls such as 16 are adjustably secured to the shaft 15 by set screws such as 17.

The shaft 15 extends through both blocks 14 and on the right end thereof, as viewed in Fig. 1, said shaft has secured thereto the spur gear 18 and the bevel gear 19. On the left end 01 said shaft is secured the bevel gear 20.

Shoulders formed on the gears 18 and 20, re-

spectively, prevent endwise movement of the shaft 15. The spur gear 18 meshes with the spur gear 21 which is secured on the shaft 22 revolubly mounted in the side frames directly l'iei'ieath the shaft 15.

The shaft 22 cxtendsto the right, as viewed in Fig. 1, and is attached to any suitable source of power, not shown, for driving my improved machine.

On that portion of the shat within the side frames 23, a plurality of cutting rolls such as 24; is adj ustably secured by set screws such as The cutting rolls 16 and 25 are positioned with reference to each other as shown in Fig. 3 and operate tocut metallicsheets passed therebetwee-n in a manner which is well-known in the art and which forms no part of my invention.

The rolls .16 and 25 perform the trimming operation in the making of the sheet metal blanks, the central pair of rolls cutting in half the metallic sheets passed therethrough and the end pairs of rolls trimming the edges of said sheet, the distance between the cutting edges of the central pair of rolls and those oi any end pair dete 'minmg one (ha mension ot the proposed blank.

The bevel gear 19 meshes with the bevel gear 26 secured on the shaft 27 which is revolubly mounted in bearing blocks such as :28 formed on the frame of the machine. fit the other end of the shaft the bevel gear meshes with the bevel gear 29 secured on the shaft 30 which is revolubly n'iountedin bearingblocks such as 31 formed on the frame of the machine. The shafts 15, 2'4" and 30 lie in the same horizontal plane, with the latter two shafts at right angles to and on the same side of the first-named shaft. Adjustably secured to the shaft 27 between the blocks 28 by set screws such as 72 is a plurality of cutting rolls such as 32. Similarly, between the bearing lJlUCliS 31, a plurality of cutting rolls such as 33 adjustably secured to the shaft 30 by set screws such as il-3. Directly beneath the shaft a. shaft is revolubly mounted in the frames and directly beneztth the shaft 30, a shaft is revolubly mounted in said frames.

The shaft 3% has secured thereto the spur gear which meshes with the spur gear 37' secured to the shaft Similarly, to the shaft the spur gear 38 secured which meshes with the spur gear 239 secured to the shaft 30.

A plurality of cutting rolls such as all adjustably secured to the shaft 23% between the side frames by set screws such as 74, each of said rolls being positioned torooperate in the usual wa t with a roll 32 on the shaft 27.

A plurality of cutting rolls such as ll is adijustably secured on the sha t 35 between the side frames 23 by set screws such as T5, each of said rolls being positioned to c0- operate in the usual way with a roll 33 secured to the upper shaft 30.

Endwise movement of the shafts 27 and 34: is prevented by shoulders formed on the gears 37 and 86, respectively, and by collars such as 7 6 securedto the other ends of said shafts. Similar provision is made for the shafts S0 and 35 by shoulders on the gears 39 and 38, respectively, and collars such as 77 secured to the opposite ends of said shafts.

The cutting rolls 32 and 40, respectively, and 33 and -11, respectively, perform the slitting operation in my improved machine, each of said pairs of rolls being positioned along their respective shafts so that the distance between their cutting edges determines one dimension of the proposed bla it.

After the metallic sheet has been cut into two smaller sheets by the interaction of the rolls 16 and 24, the latter sheets are delivered by the momentum imparted to them by said rolls to a platform l2, which is lower than the table 11, (see Fig. 6), for a purpose hereinafter explained. The platform 42 is provided with grooves such as 43 substantially parallel to the shaft 15, and shoes such as a l and are adapted to slide freely within each of said grooves.

A reciprocating rib is secured to the shoes ll, the end of said rib opposite the trimmin rolls having formed integrally therewith and at right angle; thereto a. stop ill, for a. purpose hereinafter explained. The rib 11:") has one of its top edges chamii'ered, as shown in. liigs. l and b, to form the feather edge in", for a purpose hereinafter explained. A similar ribb'li provided with a stop (37 is secured to the shoes lltl and said rib is chanifered at the upper iu'lion thereof to form the feather edge'li'tl, for a purpci-e hereinafter explained. l-l 'lu-n said ribs and stops are in the po ion to receive the metallie :--1heet:.-,= from the cutting rolls it; and :35, as in i, said ribs are in contact tlll'tlllg'lh out their length and present the apl'iearunce of a T. l.he ribs l5 and (ill, by reason of their being secured to the shoe it and (iii, respectively, may slide freely to andv fro upon the surface of the plalhirni ill, and the l lttllzllllillll by which this reciprocating mo tion is obtained will now be described its this mechanism is the same for the rib l5 which moves toward the shaft .57 as for the rib (it; which moves toward. the shaft .ltl, but one set of the same, that for the rib (ill, will be described.

l'levolubly mounted in the :l'ranuw iii of the machine is the shaft th which is provid l on its outer end with a spur gearilll meshing with the spur gear 38.

The shaft ltl exieiuls through the side frame 223 and on its inner end has secured thereto a. cam ill which is provideifl with the groove iii. A roller I32 cooperates with the groove 51 and said roller is mounted in one end of the lever 53, the other end of said lever being revolublv mounted on the rock shaft :i-lsecured in the side frame LEl. 'rlhe end of the lever 5:1, to

which the roller 52 is secured, has also pivot ally securiul thereto our: end of a liul;

the other end of said link lltf'lllil pivotally secured to the lever M3 at a point iulermediate of the ends of said lover. flue end of the lever Fill is rm'olubly 1 led on the rock shalt 5T secured in the frame El and the other end of said lever has pivolall secured thereto one end of the .liul; 5&9, the other end of said link being pirotall 5e cured to a rod 58, the curls of whirh are mounted in the depending ears 5!) formed on the shoes (38. The cars oil slide freely in the slots (ill formed in the platform -l:5 and said slots arr aliguml with the grooves 41; hereinlu'rlore (lest 'bed.

l lat i-zpring; such as ill, having one end "d such b) are secured to a bar (ill which is mount l on the bearing blocks l-l. Similar springs such as [l lare mounted on bun: such as (35 which are secured to the bearing blocks :28 and 31, respectively. The

till

curled ends 62 of the springs 61 contact with the table 1.1 and those of the springs is contact with the platform. l2 and serve to prevent the buckling of the sheet of metal on its way to the cutting rolls.

"i he operation or my improved machine will now be described The spacing of the cutting rolls 16 and 24, respectively, 32 and 40, respectively, 41 and 323, respectively, having been determined, the operator places a sheet of metal on the table 11 and moves the same toward the rolls 16 and ii. The interaction of these rolls cuts the sheet into two parts and trims the two edges at right angles to the shaft 15. The two parts heretolore mentioned are then moved across the platform 42 by the momentum in'iparted thereto by therolls 16 and 2st and the leading edges of the two sheets contact with the stops d6 and (57. During this movement, said sheets are separated by the feather edges 47 and 69 of the ribs 45 and (36, respectively. Since these ribs are in contact throughout their lengths, the edges 47 and (39 practically form one edge. The two parts of the sheet metal are now in position to be moved to the slitting rolls, which accomplished by the groove 51 of the cam cooperating with the roller 52, this motion being translated through the links and levers hereinbefore described to the ribs 45 and 66. hen the roller 52 dwells in the portion of the cam groove 51, the ribs .1-5 and ll are in position for the reception of the metallic sheets, as shown in Fig. 1, but when in the rotationoit the cam 50 the roller 52 reaches the portion 71 of the cam groove 51, the rib t? is moved toward the shaft 2'? and the rib 66 is moved toward the shaft 30, thus moving the respective sheets of metal toward the slitting rolls.

lily improved machine, therefore, provides a continuous flow of material from the time it is inserted between the trimming rolls until it sues from the slitting rolls as properly ed can blanks.

Each of" the sheets issuing from the trimming rolls is cut sin'iultaneously so that reardation oi one of the sheets is not required, nor is manual labor necessary in order to move the trimmed sheets to the slitting rolls.

While I have shown one prefered form of my invention, it is to be understood that this is for the purpose of illustration only and in no-wise to limit the scope thereof, for

many changes may be made in my invention without departing from the Splllll thereof.

I claim 1. The herein described method of making blanks from a sheet, which consists in cutting said sheet into a plurality of smaller sheets, moving said smaller sheets in opposi'tedirections atright angles to the direction ot receipt from the cutting rolls and then cutting said smaller sheets into a plurality of blanks.

2. The herein described method of making blanks from a sheet, which consists in cutting said sheet into a plurality oi smaller sheets, separating and simultaneously cutting said smaller sheets into a plurality of blanks.

3. The herein described method of making blanks l'rom a sheet, which consists in cutting said sheet into a plurality 01 smaller sheets, moving said smaller sheets at right angle to the direction of receipt from the cutting rolls and then simultaneously cutting said smaller sheets into a plurality of blanks.

et. The herein described method of making blanks from a sheet, which consists in cutting said sheet into a plurality of, smaller sheets, separating and moving said smaller sheets at right angles to the direction of receipt from the cutting rolls and then simultaneously cutting said smaller sheets into a plurality of blanks.

5. The herein described method of making blanks from a sheet, which consists in cutting said sheet into a plurality of smaller sheets, moving said smaller sheets in oppo site directions and then cutting said smaller sheets into a plurality of blanks.

6. The herein described method of making blanks from a sheet, which consists in cutting said sheet into a plurality of smaller sheets, moving said smaller sheets in oppo site directions and then simultaneously cut.- ting said smaller sheets into a plurality of blanks.

7. The herein described method of making blanks from a sheet, WfllCll consists in cutting said sheet into a plurality of smaller sheets, simultaneously separating and simultaneously cutting said smaller sheets into a plurality of blanks.

S. Theherein described method of male ing blanks from a sheet, which consists in cutting said sheet into a plurality oiismaller sheets, separating and moving said smaller sheets in opposite directions at right angles to the direction oi receipt from the cutting rolls and then cutting said smaller sheets into a plurality of blanks.

9. The herein described method of making blanks from a sheet, which consists in cutting said sheet into a plurality of smaller sheets, moving said smaller sheets in opposite directions at right angles to the direction of receipt from the cutting rolls and then simultaneously cutting said smaller sheets into a plurality of blanks. v H

10. The herein described method of making blanks from a sheet, which consists in cutting said sheet a plurality of smaller sheets, separating and moving said smaller sheets in opposite directions and then cutting ill) said smaller sheets into a plurality of blanks.

11. The herein described method of making blanks from a sheet, Which consists in cutting said sheet into a plurality of snlaller sheets, separating and moving said smaller sheets in opposite directions and then sin1ultaneously cutting said smaller sheets into a plurality o'l blanks.

12; The herein described method of making blanks from a sheet, which consists in cutting said sheet into a plurality of Sll'lzllltl sheets, simultaneously separating and moving said smaller sheets in oppositetli1ections and then cutting said smaller sheets into a plurality o'l blanks.

18. The herein described method ojl maklllg blanks -from a sheet, which consists in cutting;- said 2 reel into a plurality of smaller sheets, simultaneously separating and moving, said smaller sheets in opposite directions and than simiiltamously cutting said smaller sheets into a plurality of blanks.

l i. in a machine for making blanks from a sheet, the combination with means for cutting said sheet into a plurality of smaller sheets, oi? blank cutting rolls, and n'leans for separating and simultaneously feeding said l-rmalk-r sheets to said rolls.

15. in a machine for making blanks from a sheet, the combination with means lfor cutting said sheet into a plurality of smaller sheets, of blank cutting rolls, and means for simultaneously feeding said smaller sheets to said rolls.

it]. In a machine for making blanks from a sheet, the combination with means for cutting said sheet into a plurality of smaller sheets, of means for simultaneously cutting said smaller sheets into blanks.

17. In a machine for making blanks from a sheet, the combination with means for cut ting said sheet into a plurality of smaller sheets, or" means for simultaneously cutting said smaller sheetsinto blanks andmeans for l'eeding said sheets to said second named llllilllbl.

llrl. la a machine for making blanks from a sheet, the combimition with'n'ieans for cutting: said sheet into a plurality of sinaller sheets. of means for simultaneously cutting said smaller sheets into blanks, and means tor separating and feeding said sheets to said secorul named means.

it). In a machine for making blanks from a sheet. the combination with means for cutting said sheet into a plurality ot smaller sheets, of means for simultaneously cutting said smaller sheets into blanks, and means for separating and simultaneously feeding; said sheets to said second named means.

20. In a machine for making blanks from a sheet, the combination with means for cutting, said sheet into a plurality of smaller sheets, of means for simultaneously cutting said smaller sheets into blanks, and

means for simultaneously feeding said sheets to said second named means.

21. In a machine for making blanks from a sheet, the combination with means l'or cutting said sheet into a plurality of smaller sheets, of n'ieans for cutting said smaller sheets into blanks and means for simultaneously feeding sa id sheets to said second named means.

In a machine for making blanks from a sheet, the combination with means for cutring said sheet into a plurality oi smaller sheets, of means for siimiltaneoi[sly ctlttlllg said smaller sheets into blanks, and means for siinultaueously se 'iarating and feeding said sheets to said second nmncd means.

:33. In :rmaehine for niaking blanks from a sheet, the comlflinaticn with means for cutting said sheet into a plurality of smaller sheets, o'li means for cutting" said smaller sheets into blanks, and IDQZLIIS l OI simultam ously separating and feeding said sheets to said second named means.

24-. In a maelline for making blanks l'rmn a sheet, the combination with means for cut:- ting said sheet into a plurality ol smaller sheets, of means for simultaneously scpa rating said smaller sheets, means for simultaneously cutting said sheets into blanks and means for sinmltaneously feeding said sheets to said blank cutting means.

In a machine for makingblanks from a sheet, the combination with means for cutting said sheet into a plurality of smaller shec s, of means for simultaneously cutting said smaller sheets into blanks, said last named means being spaced apart and substantially parallel to the direction 0% delivery from said l'irst named cutting means.

26. In" a machine for making blanks from a sheet, the combination with means for cut-- ting said sheet into a plurality of snmller sheets, of blank cutting rolls for simultancously cutting said smaller sheets into blanks, saida-olls being spaced apart and substantially parallel to the direction of delivery from said cutting means, and means for simultaneously feeding said smaller sheets to said rolls.

27. In a machine for makin; blanks from a sheet, the. combination with means for cuttingsaid sheet into a plurality of smaller sl .15, of blank cutting rolls For simultanecuttii'lgsaid smaller sheets into blanks,

said rolls being spaced apart and substantially parallel to the direction ol delivery from said first named cutting means, and means adapted to more said an'mller sheets in opposite directions to ards said rolls.

28. In a machine for making blanks from a sheet, the combination with means for cutting' said sheet into a plurality of smaller sheets, of blank cutting rolls lor simultaneously cutting said smaller sheets into blanks. said rolls being spaced apart and substanall lie

said rolls being spaced apart and substan- 1(- tially parallel to the direction of delivery from said first named cutting means, and means adapted to separate and move said smaller sheets in opposite directions towards said rolls.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signa ture.

HARRY K. SMITH. 

